Magic Theatre's JESUS IN INDIA Begins Performances 1/25

Three years after the world premiere of his hit play, American Hwangap, Lloyd Suh is back at Magic Theatre with Jesus in India, a contemporary reimagining of a wild stretch in the lost years of Jesus Christ. Teenaged and wayward, Jesus of Nazareth runs away from home and journeys to the East with his friend, Abigail of Galilee, towards a spiritual haven full of Maharajas, punk rock, and some really good weed. Performances begin January 25 and run through February 19. New York-based director Daniella Topol helms this world premiere production.

Magic Theatre unveiled a unique new voice with the 2009 world premiere of Lloyd Suh’s quirky and affecting American Hwangap. Suh refers to his latest play as a “rebooting or prequel” to the biblical story. “This play is for everyone,” said Suh, “It’s about humanity, coming of age, finding your way. It’s the lost chapter, before Jesus became Jesus. You don’t have to know the biblical story of Jesus or even be religious to appreciate the play. I think in the end it’s about transformation and humanity and nothing is more universal than that.”

Magic Theatre has been a champion of this play from its inception. “Just before we opened American Hwangap, I asked Lloyd what he’d like to work on next and he shared his desire to theatrically imagine the lost years of Jesus,” stated Loretta Greco, Producing Artistic Director of Magic Theatre. “It has been exhilarating to watch this play grow from just an idea, through several drafts via readings and three workshops here at Magic between the spring of 2009 and January of 2012. It is thrilling to continue to watch its evolution in the rehearsal hall. We are honored to have such an exceptional team working on this world premiere with Lloyd – director Daniella Topol, dramaturg Shirley Fishman, a top-tier design team and a ridiculously talented cast. Two of the actors, Bobak Bakhtiari and Jomar Tagatac, have been an integral part of the the development of the play over the last few years.” 

The five multi-talented cast members include two new faces to the Bay Area in Damon Daunno (Jesus) whose credits include the Broadway production of Kneehigh Theatre Co.’s Brief Encounter and Mahira Kakkar (Mahari/Mary) who played Emily Webb in Our Town at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival; as well as some notable familiar faces in Bobak Bakhtiari (Gopal) who has been seen in productions by Word for Word, Golden Thread, and Aurora Theatre; Jessica Lynn Carroll (Abigail) who was most recently in Bellwether at Marin Theatre Company; and Jomar Tagatac (Sushil) whose most recent credits include The Nature Line at Sleepwalkers Theatre andThe Best of Playground Festival. 

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit magictheatre.org or call the box office at 415-441-8822.

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